Nothing Can Keep Us Apart
by L0VEisREALx3
Summary: Nick and Miley are finally together, but what happens when a misunderstanding keeps them away from each other? Will they be able to make it work or will they both move on? sequel to BECAUSE I CARE
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I was going to wait a while to post this, but I couldn't, I wanted to get it up now, lucky for you guys haha. This is very short, just to set up the story. I'll probably have the next chapter within the next day. Oh and I'm still writing so suggestions are welcome. **

**Okay so it starts the morning after Because I Care ended...**

Miley woke up to the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She looked at the sleeping boy next to her with his arms around her waist and smiled. Last night had hands down been the the best night of her life. She couldn't stop smiling as she recalled his voice saying I love you and him kissing her and how good it felt to just be with him without having to worry about being just friends. She was pulled out of her day dream however when she realized that the footsteps had made the turn to her room.

_Shit!_

"Nick!" Miley whispered urgently, "Wake up!"

He groaned "No, Miley" and buried his face into her shoulder. His curly hair tickled her chin, but she was not in the laughing mood.

"Nick! My dad's coming, you have to leave!" she said trying to get him to understand.

Nick shot up as if he had been lit on fire and grabbed his jeans, but it was too late the door knob was already turning and Mr. Stewart walked in.

The scene he saw when he walked in looked a lot worse than it actually was. Miley was in bed with her sheet clutched to her chest her bare shoulders making it obvious that she was shirtless and her pants were laying on the floor. And then therer was Nick Jonas, a boy Mr. Stewart thought he could trust quickly pulling a pair of jeans over his boxers clearly with a head of bed hair.

"Miley! Nick!" he thundered, surprised at angry at the two teenagers he thought he could trust "I thought you two were 'just friends'! Is this what you meant? I thought you were responsible!"

"Dad, it's not what it looks like. We weren't-" Miley tried desperately to explain to him.

He cut her off. "Nick, get your shirt on and go home now and I won't tell your parents"

Nick wanted to stay and say goodbye to Miley, but he knew he should listen. His parents would completely flip out if they knew about this, they would probably never let him see Miley again and they would never trust him ever again. He went out the door his heart pounding from the adrenaline that had pumped though his veins the second he heard her faterh coming. He hoped Mr. Stewart would listen to Miley and believe her. He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't see her again…

On the way home and he recalled last night. He brought his hands to his lips, they were still tingling. He couldn't stop grinning as he walked up the steps to his house. He opened the door quietly hoping not to wake any one and hoping he wouldn't be noticed. Much to his surprise when he opened the door he saw his two older brothers waiting for him, smirking.

"So Nick, how was your night?"

* * *

Back at the Stewart's, Miley was sitting on the couch, now fully clothed, being lectured by her dad. Her fingers flitted nervously through her hair. She hated being yelled at by her dad, even if she knew she didn't deserve it.

She had tried to explain to him that it was a one time occurrence and they hadn't actually done anything, but he wasn't listening. He hadn't even stopped long enough for Miley to tell him that she was Nick's girlfriend now. _Wow, that sounds good_ Miley thought _Nick's girlfriend. We'll go to school and everyone will see us holding hands and no one will bother us about it because we actually are together... _She pulled out of her day dream and focused on her dad for a few more minutes.

"Miley, you've been so irresponsible these past few weeks and I let it go on long enough! You're missing curfew and sometimes you're not even coming home! I thought Nick was a good boy, but now I see he's a terrible influence on you."

"But Daddy,"

"No buts Miley, I've been considering this for a while now and now I see it's necessary."

Miley knew she would dread whatever punishment her father would come up with, but she was not prepared for what he said next

"You're going to an all-girls boarding school"


	2. Chapter 2

**Ugh okay so sorry this took a while. i've had it finished for a while but i didn't have time to upload it. and it's kind of short, but i'm writing up the next chapter as you read so that should be up before tonight. so enjoy review Please.**

Nick was waiting for Miley to call him. He knew he should be patient because her dad looked pretty angry and he would want to have a talk with her but he knew she would be upset, and he wanted to be the one to comfort her. And then maybe ask her to a movie or out to dinner _as his girlfriend._

_My girlfriend, Miley Stewart_ Nick thought dreamily.

He couldn't wait for school to start in a week where he could hold her hand down the hallways and kiss her whenever he wanted. His stomach fluttered thinking about it.

His mind drifted to last night. Her skin on his skin, her whispering she loved him and him saying it back. He couldn't stop replaying the memories over and over in his mind. He laid on his bed thinking about it until he floated to sleep…

When Nick woke up, the first thing he did was look at his clock. His eyes widened in surprise, it was 9am, and he had been asleep for almost twelve hours. He frantically searched for his phone hoping she wouldn't be too mad that he hadn't heard it.

_Huh. No messages or calls._ Nick thought that was a little strange, but maybe she got her phone taken away or something. He decided that if he didn't hear from her before three, he would head over to her house and ask to talk to her. He decided to get up and go downstairs to eat breakfast and talk to his brothers.

If he had bothered to look out the window, he would have seen a brunette girl looking longingly up at the window hoping for a glimpse of the boy she was in love with. But he didn't look and she had to move on before her father caught her staring and yelled at her to keep packing up the car.

The boarding school Miley was going to was called Pacific Academy for Girls and it started on Wednesday (it was now a Sunday), but the girls were required to move in by Tuesday and Mr. Stewart wanted Miley to leave right away.

After begging and pleading unsuccessfully, Miley had followed her father's orders and packed her things. He had taken her cell phone away, but promised to send her a new one soon with a new number. If you asked her, she thought this was a little extreme, but nobody had.

She loaded her last bag into the car and then climbed into the passenger seat. She ignored her dad's attempts to make small talk with her as he cruised down the highway. The school was a good two hours from her house, and from the love of her life.

Tears prickled her eyes as she thought about Nick. She hoped he wouldn't hate her too much. She wondered what he would think when she didn't call. She cursed herself for relying on her phone book and not memorizing his number.

Miley also worried about boarding school and how the other girls would treat her. Would they hate her? Would they all be stuck up? What if her roommate was too messy? And most importantly, what would she do without not only Nick, but all of the Jonas's and Lilly?

_Remember to call Lilly _Miley mentally stored. Maybe she could help Miley somehow or at least give her Nick's number so she could call and explain to him what was going on. She leaned her head against the window and let the hum of the road rock her to sleep.

* * *

While Miley was avoiding talking to her father, Nick was sitting down at the kitchen table where his older brothers were already eating ceral and eying him curiously. Kevin had the paper laid out in front of him and Joe was reading the comics. Typical.

They both smiled at him as he sat down. Their little brother looked so happy that they couldn't help be happy as well.

"So, ready to tell us what happened?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah" Joe agreed "i mean we did cover for you ALL NIGHT" he raised his eyeborews suggestively.

Nick rolled his eyes as he poured his cereal "and I've already thanked you a million times, Joe" he said.

"C'mon Nick!" his brothers pleaded.

Nick smiled softly as he took a bite of cereal. He chewed and swallowed slowly, torturing his brothers. "We're offical" he admitted with a big goofy grin on his face.

"Woo!" Joe yelled pumping his fist in the air, "We'd thought it'd never happen!"

"Thanks" Nick said sarcastically, but honestly nothing could possibly ruin his mood at this moment.

"Congrats, Nick" Kevin said, patting him on the back, "So I guess you two will be hanging out today?"

Nick frowned "Well, Mr. Stewart caught us yesterday morning in a slightly compromising position..."

"Nick!" Kevin said shocked.

"No, no we didn't do anything like that. I mean, I didn't break my promise, but we were both in our underwear" Nick said blushing furiously.

"Are you kidding me?" Joe asked, "One night and you've already gotten her doing that? Lilly won't even-"

"Too much information, Joe" Nick said making a face, "It was a one time thing, I think we both let our emotions get the better of us. I fully intend on taking it slow with her, she means to much to me to throw it all away"

Kevin nodded "So why don't you just call her?"

"I tried, but her phone was off. Most likely her dad took it away after finding us together. So she probably isn't allowed to use the house phone either. I figured I'd go over there to talk to him and her around three if she hasn't called by then?" Nick said, turning the last part into a question and looking to Kevin for approval.

"Sounds good to me," Kevin encouraged smiling at how mature his younger brother was.

And with that Nick took the part of the paper Kevin had already read and happily crunched on his cereal. He couldn't wait to see the girl he had been in love with from day one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Um. So I haven't gotten any email notifications for like 3 days, and then all of the sudden I got like all of them today. So sorry I didn't update the next day like I said I would, microsoft word was being totally lame, so I just gave up and used notepad. So sorry for spelling errors. Oh, and please please review, I've been getting a lot of story alerts, but not a lot of reviews. I'd really appreciate them. Okay, enough of that, oh and there's a poll at the bottom, so please respond.**

It was almost three o'clock and Nick was getting ready to go over to Miley's. He had just taken a shower and was now wearing dark jeans, a red T-shirt with a black vest over it. He ran some gel through his curls and looked in the mirror again. Taking time to look good was always worth it for Miley.

He took one last look in the mirror, sprayed himself with polo black, and then went out the door. He felt strangly nervous as he practiced his speech for Mr. Stewart over and over in his head.

He rang the doorbell and sure enough Mr. Stewart opened the door and looked at Nick curiously.

"Nick!" he said suspiciously chipper, "What brings you here?"

Nick opened his mouth to speak and he was interrupted.

"Wait, wait, where are my manners? Come on in and sit on the couch."

Okay, this is weird Nick thought as he sat down on the same couch Miley was being lectured on the other day.

Once he was sitting down he opened his mouth again.

"Sir, I understand the scene you walked in on the other morning was completely inappropriate. I promise you that will be the first and last time that happens. And for the record, I would never do something like that to Miley. I respect her and I respect the promise I made to God. That being said, may I please see your daughter?"

Mr. Stewart frowned. "Nick..."

"No disrespect, Sir, but I intend to be with Miley no matter what it takes," Nick said determinedly.

"No, it's not that Nick. It's just, well, Miley didn't tell you did she?"

Nick didn't know what to say to that, but the confused expression on his face was enough of an answer. Besides, Mr. Stewart knew the answer before he even asked the question.

"Well, Nick, Miley has been planning to go to Boarding School for quite a while now. We sent in her application about a month ago and she was accepted immediately." he lied, "She left this morning."

Nick's heart dropped. "I don't understand, why didn't she tell me? She said that..." he trailed off.

"I guess Saturday night was her way of saying goodbye to you."

No! Nick was screaming inside of his head, but outwardly he stood up, shook the man's hand, and said "Thank you, I'll just go home then"

His heart was breaking into a million pieces as he ran to his house. It seemed as if he couldn't get there fast enough...

Miley sighed as she sat down on her bed in her new room. She had just spread her new comforter on her bed. It was white with red and pink hibiscuses on it and it felt stiff and uncomfortable. She looked over at her new roommate's side of the room; she had not met her yet. Her bedspread was black with multicolor polka dots on it and she had matching desk accessories.

Her stuff looks normal Miley thought. To be honest she thought all of the girls were going to be awkward and boring, but all of them looked pretty normal, like the girls she would see back at Seaview High.

Miley went over to the closet and ran her hands over her new uniforms. Luckily they were only required during school hours.

Suddenly the door opened and a dark brunette and a blonde walked in chatting. The blonde had medium length hair with big loose curls in it. She had typical California sun kissed skin which went nice with her white eyelet tank top, light jeans, and red heels. Her ears, neck, and wrists were adorned with gold jewelry and her make up was natural looking. The brunette had long, long almost black hair and was wearing purple skinny jeans and a loose v-neck T-shirt-shirt. It reminded Miley of Joe, but she didn't want to think about that. The girl had no jewelry, but her dark eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner.

The both stopped and gave Miley friendly smiles and she faintly smiled back. Something about these girls just seemed to glow and Miley found herself wanting to prove herself to them.

The brunette held out her hand "I'm Amanda, better known as Mandy, and as your new roommate" she said shaking Miley's hand.

"I'm Miley"

"And I'm Ashley" the blonde said, "I live across the hall."

"So Miley, what's your story?" Mandy asked bluntly.

"Huh?" Miley said confused.

"Why'd you transfer here junior year? That's pretty random" Mandy clarified.

"Oh you know," Miley said trying to laugh it off, "My dad thought I was a little too wild so he sent me here"

"What kind of wild?" Ashley asked eyes wide.

"Just the usual parties and stuff," Miley said, "I came home late a few times and my dad blew it completely out of proportion" she let out a fake laugh. She didn't want to bring up Nick. She had tried to call Lilly earlier, but she didn't pick up.

While Miley was wrapped up in her thoughts of her former life Ashley and Mandy were having a conversation with their eyes.

"So Miley" Mandy said deviously, "You like to party?"

"Yeah, you know it's cool. I think it's what I'll miss the most" Miley lied. What she missed the most would be Nick. All she wanted was to hear his voice and feel his arms around her.

"Who says we don't know how to party?" Ashley said pretending to be offended.

"Well, I just thought since it's all girls-"

"Oh, there's a boy's school less than 20 minutes away. We meet up with them in town all the time. That's why this room is so great" Mandy said nodding to the window that faced away from the campus.

"You guys drink?" Miley said, eager to drown out thoughts of Nick.

"Yeah, alcohol, drugs, we do everything everyone else does" Ashley said nonchalantly.

All of the sudden boarding school was looking a lot more interesting...

**Okay, so would you guys like Miley and Nick to meet up again **

**A) at home, when Miley comes home for Thanksgiving unbeknown to Nick (I have a few separate scenes for each of them before this, but I would skip ahead a bit)  
or  
B) at boarding school, when Nick comes to surprise Miley **

**Both of these are more planned out in my head, but I don't want to give anything away, so let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Longest chapter so far! I'm pretty sure I've gotten mostly B as an answer so I'm probably gonna go with that unless it drastically changes in the next day or so. Enjoy, review!**

Nick felt like the world was spinning too fast. He ran full speed to his house and up the stairs, he just wanted to get away from the question in his mind. Why? Miley. His Miley. How could she be gone? He felt inescapably devastated. As he collapsed face first onto his bed he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in and willed himself not to cry.

He didn't know how long he was laying there feeling numb, but he heard the door open and two laughing voices, one male and one female.

"Nick? Miley? You guys here?" he heard Joe call.

If only she was here Nick thought ignoring Joe's question.

Then he heard footsteps thundering up the stairs and his door was pulled open revealing Joe with his hand over his eyes.

"Everybody fully clothed?" he joked.

"Joe..." Nick said sounding defeated and worn out.

Joe heard the pure devastation in his little brother's voice and he opened his eyes realizing Miley wasn't there. Then, Lilly appeared behind Joe.

"Miley-" she started, not even looking into the room, and Joe clamped his hand over her mouth. Her eyes blinked in confusion as she looked at Nick's depressing position and Joe's concerned face.

"Nick" Joe said, letting go of Lilly, "What happened?"

Nick rolled around on the bed and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Admitting it out loud would make it completely true. And everyone would know that he was left by the love of his young life.

"Where's Miley, Nick?" Lilly said worriedly, "Is she hurt?"

Nick shook his head.

"Did you talk to her?"

Another shake of his head.

Joe and Lilly exchanged a look and stood there quietly, unsure of what to say next.

"She left" was all he could choke out. He sat up on the edge of his bed. "She left" he repeated. A silent tear fell down his face and he wiped it away quickly.

"Nick," Lilly said comfortingly, "What do you mean?"

"She left!" Nick yelled suddenly angry, "She said she loved me, but she left. She said she wanted to be with me, but apparently that was a lie. She went away to boarding school or some crap like that. She didn't even tell me. Whatever."

Lilly and Joe were both taken aback by his outburst. Nick dropped his head into his hands and began to shake.

Lilly sat down on one side of him and put a friendly arm around him and Joe sat on the other side.

"I doubt she would just leave you Nick" Lilly said trying to be reasonable.

"Oh yeah?" Nick said angry again, "Then why did I go over her house today and then look like an idiot when her father told me that she left for boarding school this morning? He thought I knew! Even he thought she would tell me!"

Lilly opened her mouth again, but Joe shot her a look and she closed it. Joe knew there would be no reasoning with Nick right now.

"Do you want us to do anything?" Joe asked nicely.

"I just want to be alone" Nick mumbled.

"Okay, buddy, but remember we're here for you whenever you need it" Joe said as him and his girlfriend got up to leave the room. As soon as they were out the door Joe took her hand and led her into his room.

She wrapped her arms around his back and he put his around her waist and she pressed her cheek into his chest.

"Do you really think she left?" Lilly asked sadly. Miley was her best friend after all.

"I don't know Lils," Joe said thinking "Why would Mr. Stewart lie? It's not like he has her tied up in the house or something. I just don't get why she wouldn't tell us."

"I know, it just doesn't make sense. She never told me anything about boarding school..." Lilly said.

Suddenly, both of them felt a vibration on their legs and they quickly jumped away, surprised.

"Oh, it's just my phone" Lilly said laughing and checking the screen, "Huh, unknown number... whatever I'll check it later" she said and threw the phone onto Joe's desk, "Now where were we?" she wrapped her arms back around Joe's neck and kiss him gently. He kissed her back, forgetting all thoughts of his brother, Miley, and the phone that continued to vibrate on his desk.

Back at PAG, Miley was giggling with her new friends and getting ready for the night. Mandy had insisted Miley borrow clothes from her, since Miley hadn't really thought to bring nicer clothes to school. She was now wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and red and black fitted corset top. Mandy had also insisted on doing her make up and was now wearing dark eyeliner and blood red lipstick. Her hair was in it's natural curls flowing down her back. She looked very little like the old Miley and that suited her fine.

Mandy was still wearing her purple skinnies, but had traded her tshirt for a white wife beater and a tight cropped black vest and a long silver necklace with a lightening bolt at the end. Her hair was now in a pouf and a low ponytail.

Ashley had on a grey miniskirt and a thin, white, v-neck sweater. Miley had quickly realized that her style was a little more put together and classy while Mandy's was slightly out there, but still fashionable.

Mandy was pouring something out of a water bottle into a bottle of Minute Maid lemonade and passed it to Miley. Miley took a quick sip and could easily taste the vodka it was spiked with.

"Drink up, baby" Mandy said taking a gulp of her own and passing it to Ashley.

Part of Miley realized she shouldn't be drinking and going out with girls she hardly knew, but one was going to be her roommate and it's not like they weren't drinking too, so really it wasn't that bad right?

"Okay, time to leave" Ashley said hoisting herself out the window.

Miley felt a rush of excitement as she followed Ashley out the window and landed on the soft grass. They were all giggling as they left campus and hailed a taxi.

Later on in the night, Miley was stumbling drunk and some guy she didn't even know had his arm around her. His hands started to travel to her leg and her eyes automatically scanned the room for Nick. Realizing he wasn't going to be there, her eyes filled with tears. She wanted nothing more than for him to pull her away, bring her to her house and just lay in bed with him for hours. Her body hurt with the ache of wanting him.

Out of nowhere, Mandy swooped down on her, grabbing her arm.

"Sorry Dan," she said to the guy with an apologetic look on her face, "but Miley, Ash, and I need to get home."

Miley smiled gratefully through her tears and Dan glared at her, but let go of Miley.

Mandy dragged Miley back out of the house they had wound up in, grabbing Ashley on the way. Mandy grabbed an taxi and threw both of them in before sliding in herself. The ride home was silent as Miley wiped her tears away. When they fell back in through the window Mandy turned to Miley.

"What was THAT about?" Mandy hissed, "You were with, like, the cutest guy ever and you start CRYING?"

Miley was silent and Ashley was looking at Mandy questioningly.

"Who is he?" Mandy asked suddenly sympathetic.

Miley looked and her and tilted her head.

"The guy who made you like this" Mandy said, "It's always a boy, trust me"

"Nick" Miley whispered softly and sat down on the bed.

Suddenly Miley was crying a fit of drunken tears and spilling the entire story to them. Nick taking her home and telling her he loved her while she was supposed to be asleep. Nick leaving her. Nick coming back, and Nick and her finally together. And Nick being taken away. She sobbed and told them the whole story while Mandy held her hand and Ashley stroked her hair. Soon, she had cried herself out and she drifted to sleep...


	5. Chapter 5

**This is really short, but it's necessary for later. The next chapter is Nick and Miley's first day of school. That will probably be posted either later tonight or tomorrow.**

Miley woke up the next morning and instantly had a huge headache.

"Ughh" she moaned dreading the thought of opening her eyes, knowing that sunlight would be streaming through the window.

When she finally mustered up the courage to open them she was surprised to find it wasn't bright at all. Someone had put a thick sheet over the window and turned the lights off although she was sure she had fallen asleep with them on.

Miley looked over to Mandy's bed. She had done almost twice as many shots as me, she must be dying Miley thought, but she couldn't make out any shapes across the dark room. However she could make out the jumbo bottle of water and two orange advil on her bedside table. She grabbed the two pills and swallowed them down along with almost half of the water.

She also noticed a note on the table

Miley,  
Have a little too much fun last night? I'm in Ash's room across the hall. Have a nice rest.  
xoxo,  
Mandy

Miley buried her head in her pillow as memories from last night came flooding back into her head.

She was so embarassed. Mandy and Ashley probably thought she was emotionally disturbed. How was she going to face them?

Just then the doorknob turned and Mandy slowly walked it.

"Oh hey," she said quietly seeing Miley was awake, "I just came in to grab my laptop... how are you feeling?"

"Ugh like crap. How are you awake and running already?"

Mandy laughed. "Practice" she said with a smirk.

"Listen, sorry about last night" Miley said.

"Huh?" Mandy asked confused.

"Me being an emotional wreck, I swear I'm not like that normally"

"Oh that? Never be ashamed to feel things sweetie. There's nothing wrong with having feelings" Mandy smiled kindly, "We'll just have to find you a boy to get over that loser."

"He's not a loser" Miley defended, "And I can't just get over him..."

"Hey, I'm not asking you to get married... just go on a few dates. Play the field. Maybe you'll find someone else, maybe you won't and you can go back to Nick at Thanksgiving Break. You can't rely on alcohol to be your only escape."

Miley thought about it and nodded slowly. Mandy smiled again and left the room wit her iBook, leaving Miley with her thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

**Holy shit. (excuse my language) this is like the longest chapter i've ever written. I threw in some flashbacks here, just because i know everyone was getting bored of no Niley. Tell me if you think it works or not.**

Nick sighed as he walked downstairs for his first day of school. He was wearing his usual jeans and a button down shirt, but somehow he just didn't look as tidy as usual. Maybe because his eyes looked tired and had obvious bags underneath them. He sat down at the table where Joe and Kevin were already sitting. Kevin was already out of high school, but Joe was in his senior year. Joe was eating eggs and Kevin was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. His mom and dad and younger brother were also at the table

Nick sat down, but didn't grab any of the food on the table. His brothers and mom both noticed, but they knew better than to bother him about it, he would only blow up at them or get very sad looking, even sadder than he looked now.

He listened to his younger brother's chatter about his first day of 2nd grade and nodded or replied with short answers when asked a question, but his heart just wasn't in it.

Going to school without Miley didn't really make sense to Nick. They had been going to the same school for forever. Even before they were together they would go together since they lived so close.

When they were little their parents carpooled them and when Kevin got his licence he drove them until he graduated and Joe got his license. Now Nick had his own license and car and instead of driving Miley to school he would be driving by himself because Joe was picking up Lilly. Nick grabbed his brown leather messenger back and walked out to his car. He opened the door and sat down and began to drive. He had been driving long enough to not have to think about it that much and his mind drifted back to another memory of the first day of school.

**Flashback  
**_Nick was eleven years old and he was waiting patiently at the door for his best friend Miley Stewart. It was their first day of middle school and his mom was driving them to school and she had sent him in to go get her._

_Her older brother opened the door and Nick peered in at the scene inside. Miley was dressed in a skirt and a tshirt, but that wasn't the problem._

_Although she was only eleven her face was in full makeup. Or at least an eleven year olds idea of full make up. Bright blue eyeshadow and dark red lipstick coated her face. Honestly she looked completely ridiculous and everyone could tell._

_"Miley, go wash that junk off immediately!" Mr. Stewart said exasperated._

_"But Dad, everyone in middle school looks like this!" she argued._

_"That doesn't mean you can!" Mr. Stewart yelled and then saw Nick, "Nick, tell her she looks ridiculous!"_

_They both looked at him expectantly, Miley's eyes begging him to agree with her and Mr. Stewart's eyes boring into him daring him to lie._

_"You look so much prettier without all that stuff on your face" Nick told her honestly. Even then he was in love with her even if he hadn't fully realized it yet._

_Her eyes filled with tears of frustration. Miley was stubborn and hated not getting her way._

_"Thanks a lot Nick" she said angrily, and stomed up the stairs to her bathroom._

_The whole ride to school Miley didn't say a word and just stared bitterly out the window. Mrs. Jonas sensed something was up, but as she had been a preteen girl once too, she didn't say anything._

_As Miley stormed out of the car door and down the hall to her homeroom Nick chased after her calling her name._

_"Miley!" he grabbed her arm as he caught up to her._

_She stoped and turned around. "What Nick?" she asked coldly and glared._

_"Please don't be mad at me" he begged._

_"You couldn't even stand up for me!" she said "You're supposed to be my friend! I'm so sick of being told what to do!"_

_"I am your friend" Nick insisted, "That's why I wanted to let you know that you're beautiful and you don't need all that stuff. Any one who says otherwise must be crazy."_

_Miley searched his eyes for a hint of deception, but she couldn't find one. It was in that moment that she realized what a good friend Nicholas Jonas was and that she could always depend on him to be there for her._

_"Thanks Nick" she whispered and grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze, "You're the best guy friend ever" she flashed her signature smile and ran off to her first class._

_Nick stood there with a smile on his face and began to realize he was falling in love with his best friend.  
_**End Flashback**

_I was late for class that day_ the now sixteen year old Nick thought as he remembered. He almost smiled at the memory, but then he realized he wouldn't be seeing her beautiful smile. He frowned as he turned into the student parking lot. Today was going to be a long day.

Nick was opening his locker when he felt someone's presence next to him. He looked over to see a girl who had been in his class for years, but had never really talked to, Mikayla.

"Hey Nick," she said with a smile, "How was your summer?"

"Hi Mikayla," he said with little emotion, "It was alright, how about yours?"

She proceded to tell him a long story about the vacation she went on to Hawaii and all the people she had hung out with. Nick was too polite to interrupt, but he wasn't exactly listening. Every once in a while he gave a small nod or gave a "really?" or a "wow". She continued her story telling into the next class they had together, chemistry, and were therefore put together as lab partners for the year.

He didn't really know Mikayla at all. He had seen her at a few parties, but he had barely ever talked to her. He wondered why she was all of the sudden interested in him. He watched her face as she giggled on about hula dancing or something like that. She was a pretty attractive girl. Nothing compared to Miley of course. But she was easy to be around, he didn't have to contribute to their conversations and he liked that.

But what came out of his mouth at the end of the class surprised even him.

"So, Mikayla you want to hang out together sometime?"

Miley looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her new school uniform. Ashley had sewn the hemline on her navy blue plaid skirt up a few inches so it landed five inches above her knee. Her white polo was immaculate as were her white knee high tights. All and all she didn't look that bad, but she resented the uniform nevertheless.

_Well, it could be worse_ she thought picturing knee length skirts and baggy shirts.

It was her first day of classes at PAG and she was by no means ready. She felt nervous and unsure of herself and she did not like that feeling. It was times like this that Miley missed Nick even more. It seemed like everything she did reminded her of a time with Nick. She remembered the last time that she had gone to a new school, Seaview High. But at that time she had Nick right by her side.

**FLASHBACK**

_A fifteen year old Miley was checking herself out in the mirror of her bedroom. She had on white shorts and a navy blue tank top with white embroidery sewn on it. Across her shoulders she had a grey cropped cardigan. She smoothed out her straightened hair for the millionth time and applied another coat of peach lip gloss._

_She turned around when she heard a knock at her door and called "Come in"_

_A nervous Nick walked into her room hesitantly. He had been in there when they were kids, but he hadn't been up there in a while. He felt like he was invading her personal space or something. Nick was wearing khaki shorts and a red polo. His hair was still messy as if he had just woken up._

_"Hey," he said eyeing her. She looked beautiful, as always, "Your dad sent me up here to tell you to hurry up or we're going to be late. Kevin swears he's gonna leave us if we're not down in 5 minutes." He grinned sheepishly._

_"Okay, okay I'm ready" she said more to herself than to Nick._

_"You nervous?" he asked gently._

_"A little" she squeaked, "There's gonna be so many new people! What if they hate me?"_

_"Nobody could hate you, Miles. You're nice, you're sweet, you're funny." Nick said._

_Miley smiled and grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs and into Kevin's car._

_"Finally" Kevin said rolling his eyes._

_Joe turned around in to see Miley holding Nick's hand in the back and raised an eyebrow._

_"What's this about?" he asked gesturing to their hands._

_Miley blushed, looked down and quickly let go. She was embarrassed that Joe would think that something was going on between her and Nick. They were just friends, right? She was so busy thinking she didn't notice Nick shoot Joe a death glare or Joe smirk back at him._

_As they pulled up to the high school Miley's nerves began to act up again and she once again reached for Nick's hand. He was always such a reassuring presence in her life. Being around him just seemed to make everything a little bit better. She was confused as to why this was, but right now she didn't really care, she just needed someone who was on her side.  
_**END FLASHBACK**

But today there was no Nick to hold her hand and calm her nerves. She sighed and picked up her navy blue and pink juicy messenger bag full of books. Mandy and Ashley had went down to the dinning hall to eat breakfast, but Miley was too nervous to eat anyway. She walked out of her brick dorm and down the path to the English building.

Her stomach was twisted in knots as other girls eyed her curiously. She still hadn't met many of them. Just as Miley was feeling completely out of place she heard a familiar voice to her left.

"Miley!" Mandy called running to catch up with her.

Miley stopped and turned around smiling. Mandy handed her a danish in a napkin as she caught her breath. Miley looked at her questioningly.

"You gotta eat, Miles" Miley tensed a little when she heard Mandy call her the nickname that only her best friends did.

Mandy noticed, but she wrote it off as Miley being nervous for the first day of classes.

"C'mon, I've got American Lit too. I'll walk with you" Mandy linked arms with Miley as they continued to walk to the building.

Miley breathed a sigh of relief to herself. She was so lucky to have someone who was willing to show her around.

The rest of classes went by quickly and Mandy pointed out who was who around the school. Which teachers were easy, which ones were hard. She also pointed out the girls to stay away from, the ones who were bad news and the girls who you couldn't tell anything to unless you wanted it broadcasted. By the end of the day Miley was feeling pretty confident about her new school.

Later that night, after her, Mandy, and Ashley had snuck out to "First Day of School" bonfire with the boys she found herself feeling more comfortable around these people. Forgetting about her hurt had been easier than she could have imagined. She was just hoping that it didn't all catch up to her in the end.

She was sitting next to a boy with short straight brown hair who's name was Justin. He was wearing plain loose jeans and a black wife beater. He was telling her stories about his family and she found herself laughing along with him. He had a nice smile and kind eyes and for some reason Miley just trusted him. Maybe that was why when he casually put his arm around her she didn't shrug away, she leaned into it. Maybe she thought that he could replace the hole in her heart or maybe she just wanted to feel loved again. But whatever the reason, Miley found herself getting closer to this boy, and she liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, these chapters are getting longer and longer. Double update day! Sweet! Review please!**

"You have a date?" Joe repeated for about the tenth time.

"Yes, Joe, I have a date" Nick said fed up with his brother's antics.

"You, Mr. I-love-Miley-Stewart, have a date?" Joe asked again, still shocked.

"Yes! I have a date! I moved on! Why is that so hard to believe?" Nick said angrily.

"I don't know, maybe because you didn't move on for FIVE YEARS!" Joe retorted.

"Yeah, well, she was there then. And now she's not. So if you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up Mikayla" he said brushing past Joe.

As he walked to his car, he remembered his a date that Miley had set him up on.

**FLASHBACK**

_Nick was fifteen and he was getting ready for his date. It was with one of Miley's good friends, Lisa. Miley had insisted for weeks that he ask her and so finally he had. Whatever made her happy. It's not like he had the guts to ask the girl he really wanted out._

_Ironically, it was a double date with Miley and another boy from their class, Lucas. They were planning on meeting at Nick's and then going bowling. Kevin was driving them because he was meeting some friends nearby anyway._

_Nick was in his room "getting ready". Actually he was laying on his bed using his laptop to check his email. No new emails except for a stupid forwarded one from Miley. Why did she always send those to him? "Send this to 10 people or you'll never find the love of your life" he read. I've already found mine he thought sadly._

_Suddenly his door was flung open and Miley was standing in front of him. She was dressed cute and simple in light jeans and a pink t shirt with a white peace sign on it. Her curly hair was pulled into a high ponytail and she had her usual peach lip gloss on. He smiled when he saw her._

_"You look nice Miles" he said sweetly._

_She went over to his bed and ruffled his hair._

_"I think that's Lucas's line" she giggled, "What are you wearing Mr. Jonas?"_

_He stood up revealing the same thing he had worn to school that day (it was a Friday) and she groaned._

_"Come on, Nick!" she complained, "Make an effort!"_

_She went over to his closet and rummaged around in it until she found what she was looking for and tossed it to him._

_He looked at it and realized it was the shirt she had gotten him for his birthday that year. A green plaid button down shirt he had never worn._

_"I love this shirt! You should wear it more. Someone really cool must've gotten it for you." she joked._

_"Eh, not really. Just some crazy girl who's too controling!" he joked back, but walked to his bathroom to change._

_About an hour later, Lucas had his arm around Miley at the bowling alley while Nick was just sitting awkwardly next to Lisa trying to make conversation. The were eating pizza at the pizzeria attached to the bowling alley before they played their first game. Suddenly a strange girl who Nick vaguely recognized from school walked up to their table._

_"Seriously Lucas?!" she exclaimed._

_"Excuse me?" he said playing dumb. It was so obvious to Nick that he was lying. He looked over at Miley's confused face and braced himself for what was about to happen._

_"Don't play dumb" the girl who Nick remembered was named Anna said, "You're cheating on me with this?" she pointed at Miley and then took Lucas's soda and poured it over his head._

_Miley's face turned from confused to shocked as this happened. She looked at Lucas with eyes that were begging him to deny it. Instead, Lucas got up and chased after Anna._

_Miley's face underwent a transformation that Nick had seen many times while they were growing up together. Her face got very red and her chin went all wrinkly. She was about to cry. As the tears began to fall she got up from the table and ran._

_Nick got up and chased after her, leaving a shocked Lisa at the table alone. He stopped for a second to apologize to her and say he was just going to check on Miley._

_He found her crying on the curb outside the bowling alley._

_"That guy is stupid, Miles." he said putting an arm around her shoulders. A gesture he was not able to do to Lisa._

_"I can't believe I was so stupid!" she cried, "Why would any one like just me? Did you see that girl? She was so pretty! No wonder he chose her!"_

_"Shh" Nick soothed her, "Don't even think that for a second, Miley. You're beautiful. Don't let anyone let you think otherwise. Don't waste your time crying over boys who don't deserve you."_

_Miley sniffled. "Thanks, Nick" she said smiling weakly._

_He stood up and held out his hand to help her up. He hated seeing her upset. She didn't let go of his hand as they walked back into the bowling alley. They couldn't find Lisa anywhere, so they bought a lane for just them and spent the night joking around and having a good time._

**END FLASHBACK**

Nick and Mikayla were walking out of the movie theater together and were about to go get ice cream from the shop down the street. He was having an okay time. After he had picked her up she had told him about her day while he nodded and said as little as possible. This was the best kind of relationship for both of them. Mikayla loved to talk and Nick had nothing to say. The movie was stupid to Nick, but Mikayla seemed to like it and he put his arm around the back of her chair halfway through. She seemed to like that too.

As they walked down the street Nick was vaguely aware that Mikayla had grabbed his hand and was talking about her favorite parts of the movie and about the different actresses and actors who were in it.

"That was so romantic when he kissed her! But her new hair is so ugly! I don't know why she would dye it... but he was so hot!"

Nick mentally rolled his eyes, but outwardly he nodded. They had made it to the ice cream shop and he opened the door for her.

She ordered her ice cream. Low fat no sugar added vanilla. He remembered how when he would come here with Miley after watching the latest action movie and she would order a huge banana split and eat every bite, barely stopping for breath. He smiled thinking about it. Mikayla smiled back thinking the smile was for her.

_What am I doing?_ Nick thought. _I'm not over Miley..._

He paid for their ice cream and sat down and ate it while she droned on and on about the movie.

_Thanks, I was there_ Nick thought as she practically retold the story to him.

When the left the shop he made a point of putting his hand in his pocket so she couldn't grab it, but she linked arms with him anyway. He opened the car door for her. He was raised a gentleman after all. When they pulled up at her house he got out and walked her to the door. They stood there awkwardly.

"Soo.." Mikayla said hopefully.

"Yeah.." Nick responded, "I'll, uh, see you in school Monday?"

"Of course," she replied still waiting.

"Well... I guess I should go..."

"Yeah, I had fun, Nick" she said disappointed.

"Same here," Nick lied.

Nick drove back to his house and unlocked the door. Joe was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Lilly who was asleep on his shoulder.

"How was it?" Joe asked quietly.

"I'm not over her." Nick said.

"Huh?" Joe said genuinely confused.

"Miley. I'm not over her" Nick admited again and then turned and walked up the stairs day dreaming of the girl who had left him.

Over the next month, Miley had been growing closer and closer to Justin. He was becoming a great friend to her. They had hung out a handful of times besides on the weekends. He had driven over to PGA during visiting hours to study with Miley in her dorm room and just hang out. However, they were in fact just friends. Miley felt nothing, but platonic feelings towards him. Maybe that was why she felt a little strange about going to dinner with him that night. But he had asked and she couldn't think of a reason to refuse. It didn't have to be a date right? At least that was Miley's logic. Mandy, however, had other ideas. She insisted that Justin liked her and that's why he had asked her to dinner.

That was why Miley was currently being subjected to a makeover from Mandy herself. Miley was wearing a knee length dark purple halter dress that was fitted at the waist and bust but flowed out around her hips. Black heels, black earings with a matching necklace and a black clutch completed the look. Mandy was curling her hair around a big curling iron and Miley's makeup was mostly natural with a little dark eyeshadow in the corner of her eyes. Mandy sprayed one last spritz of hairspray on her hair and turned her around to face the mirror.

Miley looked good and that was exactly what worried her. She really didn't want Justin to get the wrong idea. She still just wasn't ready to have a boyfriend or really like anyone. The thought of Nick still made her heart ache for him. She couldn't get over her loss. She took a deep breath and went down the lobby of her dorm to see Justin waiting there.

He was dressed in black dress pants and a white button down shirt. He smiled when he saw her.

"You look beautiful" he said hugging her and kissing her cheek.

"You're not looking too bad yourself" she said giggling nervously trying to turn the situation from serious to funny.

He smiled. "Ready to go?"

She nodded and he grabbed her hand and led her to his black Lexus hardtop convertible. The top was down as the September air was still warm at this hour. Later, it would get colder and Miley had brought a beaded shawl. Justin opened the door for her. This was seeming more and more like a real date and it made Miley uncomfortable.

When they got to the restaurant he pulled out her seat for her and she realized she needed to tell him that she didn't see him that way.

"Justin-"  
"Miley-"

They said at the same time and then laughed simultaneously.

"You first" Miley said graciously.

"Alright," Justin started and eyed her hand on the table. She noticed and moved it into her lap in what she hoped was a casual movement, "Miley, you're a really great girl." _oh no_, Miley thought. "Hanging out with you has been really awesome and I was thinking we should become more official, like boyfriend and girlfriend."

Miley felt like she couldn't breathe. She knew she should say something, but she couldn't think of anything. Slowly she regained her composure and put on what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"We're having fun, right?"

"Of course we are" he said his smile faltering slightly.

"So why does it need to be official?" she asked. She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want him to leave her either. Part of her knew that it was stupid, but she liked the attention she got from him.

"I just want everyone to know how much I like you, Miles" she flinched at the sound of her nickname. It still made her think of them. And that still hurt. She did a good job of keeping busy to keep them out of her mind, but sometimes the littlest things reminded her of them.

"I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship, Justin" she admited, "But that doesn't mean I don't want to keep hanging out with you" she smiled.

"Okay Miley. I don't want to rush anything. When you're ready, I'm ready"

Miley's head hurt from thinking. Something about Justin just seemed to remind her of Nick. Unfortunately Miley didn't feel the same away about Justin as she did about Nick.

They spent the rest of their night chatting like friends and having a good time. She was smiling as he walked her to her dorm entrance and gave her a soft kiss goodnight. It was completely innocent, but at the same time Miley felt like she was doing something wrong. She wasn't leading him on right? She said goodbye and walked up to her dorm completely confused. When she got up there, a curious Mandy was sitting on her bed reading a magazine.

"So how'd it go?"

"He's not Nick" Miley said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Mandy said concerned.

"He asked me to be his girlfriend, and I just couldn't say yes... I still love Nick too much!" Miley cried.

"It's okay to still love him Miley. Was Justin upset?"

"I don't know, I just told him I wasn't ready for a boyfriend and he said he would wait"

"Wow, you're so lucky. He must really like you."

Yeah right I'm lucky Miley thought changing into her PJ's.


	8. Chapter 8

Today was Friday and Miley had no classes after lunch. So she had invited Justin (who also had no classes after lunch) to eat lunch with her and then maybe hang out in her room or the library to study together. She was enjoying his friendship very much even though she could tell he still wanted more. She couldn't count the amount of times she had turned her lips away from him and turned his attempts into kisses on the cheek.

She was waiting in from of the dinning hall for him. He walked up, still in his uniform, navy blue slacks and a white button down shirt with a navy tie that had been loosened. His blazer was probably hanging up in his car Miley thought to herself. He took her hand as he reached her and led her into the dinning hall. He had picked up her favorite sushi for her in town and so they sat down right away and began to eat and talk.

Nick got out of the taxi and was shaking in anticipation. It had been way too long since he had seen her. He walked onto the campus and looked around for something that looked like a cafeteria. It was around one so he figured she was at lunch. His eyes scanned the brick buildings in front of him until he saw one that said "Dinning Hall" in stone at the top. He took bold steps towards it ignoring the glances and whispers of the girls around him.

Inside the dinning hall, Justin reached out to grab Miley's hand and she looked up at him questioningly.

"Miley," he said softly looking straight into her blue eyes.

"Yes?" she asked. It made her uncomfortable how he was looking at her so she began to scan the room, avoiding his gaze.

Nick walked in the room and scanned it for the one girl he was dying to see. His eyes finally landed on her and his heart began to race. She was sitting at the end of one of the long tables facing him. He took a step towards her and then realized that the person sitting across from her was clearly a boy. And he was holding her hand.

Miley continued to look over Justin's head and looked around the room at the other girl's at the dinning hall.

"We've been hanging out for a while now-"he continued.

Many of that girls were watching Justin and her, but a few of them had their heads aimed at the entrance and were pointing and whispering to each other. It made Miley curious. She swung her gaze to the door and saw the last person she was ever expecting.

"You're a beautiful girl, Miley-"

Crazy thoughts ran through Nick's mind as he watched Miley with some guy. He wanted to walk over there and punch him in the face, but then he realized that hadn't exactly pleased Miley last time. His second thought was to run away and just pretend that he had never found her. As he struggled with these conflicting ideas, her eyes locked with his.

Miley felt like she couldn't breathe. Nick was there. He was at PGA. They were in the same room. Breathing the same air.

"You're smart and funny and fun to be around-"

His eyes met hers and the world seemed to stop. It was just the two of them, eyes locked on each other. This was all Miley ever needed or wanted. Who was she kidding being with Justin? Nick was everything.

Nick saw her face light with surprise and he suddenly felt the need to get out of there fast. He didn't want to see Miley with another guy. He was glad she was happy, but that didn't mean he wanted to watch her with him. He didn't want to imagine them together and he certainly didn't want to hear her gush about him if she did want to hang out with him.

Miley's face went from surprise to confusion as Nick turned and ran.

"What I'm trying to say is-"

Why was he running? Why didn't he come and talk to her? Why was he even here? How did he know?

"Miley Stewart, I think I'm in love-"

Miley snatched her hand back not waiting to hear what he had to say. She had stopped really paying attention a while ago anyway. She raced after Nick as fast as her flats would take her. She raced out the door and down the path. She saw his curly hair. In a crowd of girls he wasn't that hard to spot.

"Nick!" she called after him.

Nick was vaguely aware of the stares he was getting from all the girls, but mostly he had tuned out the outside world. His feet were on autopilot and his mind was on overdrive. What was he thinking? That she would be terribly miserable without him? That he would find her all alone and he would grab her up and take her away? Of course she had found someone else! She was everything anyone could ever want! She was everything he wanted. He could hear her voice in his mind "Nick! Nick! Nick!"

Suddenly Nick was pulled out of his mind by a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even have time to think as lips were pressed against his. He panicked for a second then realized he knew these lips. His hands instinctively wrapped around her waist and they kissed for what seemed like forever until they both finally let go and backed away enough to properly look at each other.

He looks even better than I remember Miley thought as her eyes worked him over.

His curly hair was neat and he had one curl hanging into his face. It was a little shorter since the last time she had seen him, but still as adorable as ever. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes looked weary, but his lips were pulled into an irresistible grin and it made his face look gorgeous. He was wearing tan pants and a blue button down shirt tucked in. Her heart ached looking at him. She wanted him so bad. She thought she loved him, but it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now standing in front of him.

His eyes drank her in starting with her blue eyes and her perfect lips. Her chest was rising and falling heavily from running after him and their breathtaking kiss. Her hair was longer and scraggly at the ends, but she looked beautiful nevertheless. Her legs looked like they went on for miles in her skirt. Wow, she looks adorable in that uniform he thought.

"That guy-"

"Is no one. Just a friend. I missed you so much" she said pulling him close by his neck so that their foreheads were touching.

She closed her eyes and just breathed him in. He was doing the exact same to her. They stood there for a long time just holding each other and thanking their lucky stars that they were together again. Finally Miley spoke.

"How?"

"Funny story…" Nick said.

"Come up to my room and tell me?" she asked cocking her head.

"Anywhere with you…" he said honestly and she grabbed his hand and lead him to her dorm.

**SURPRISE! ha ha i thought you guys deserved a reward P. So please review!! I didn't get that many for the past few... so i would appreciate that. But thanks for all the story alerts. Next chapter will have how Nick found out and then a lot of fluffy Niley just because this story is desperately in the need of some. I think i might continue this one for a while, or end it and have another sequel. i still have a lot of ideas for these two love birds haha**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh man guys. I'm so so so sorry. Things have been so crazy with school and everything and I just haven't had a lot of time to update. This is short. And pointless. But I don't want you guys to completely forget about me. So please review and I'll try to get something substantial up by this weekend. lovelovelove (ahh taylor swift! love the new cd... anywayyy...)**

Nick and Miley were lying in Miley's bed talking about random things. She was nestled next to him, his arm around her shoulder and their ankles overlapping. Occasionally in the middle of their casual banter she would lean up and put her lips in a pout until he gave her a peck. His fingers worked their way thorough her curls absentmindedly, gently untangling them.

She snuggled even closer to him.

"So tell me how you found me"

Nick's mind traveled back to when he found out where she was.

FLASHBACK

Jackson, who was a senior, was visiting colleges with his dad for the week and Lilly was watching their house and doing things like checking the mail and feeding the dog.

Nick was laying in his room facedown on his bed trying to remember what it felt like to be with her. He was so depressed he couldn't even bring himself to write a song about it. He heard footsteps running up the stairs and down the hall to his room. He heard his door swing open without warning, but he didn't move a muscle.

"Not now, Joe," he moaned into the sheets.

"I found her!" Joe said triumphantly.

Nick wondered what in the world he was talking about, but made no indication of that. He just sat still waiting for it to be over.

"Miley!" Joe practically shouted, "I found her" he sang out dancing around Nick's room.

Nick shot up out off his bed. "WHERE?!" he demanded.

"Well…." Joe dragged out, "The Stewarts received some interesting mail, addressed to the parents of Miley Stewart…"

"Where?" Nick asked again his mind racing. He was going to get to her. He was mentally adding up all the money he had saved in his drawer and wondering where he would have to go, of course it was all worth it. Joe told Nick the name of the school she was staying at.

Nick raced to his computer and typed something quickly and pressed print. Then he headed into his closet and began to change his clothes.

Joe walked over to the printer to see what was coming out. Directions from Map Quest.

"Whoa! Nick!" Joe called, "You can't just go now!"

"I have to!" Nick's muffled voice came from the closet.

"Dude, it's nighttime, At least wait for tomorrow."

"I can't wait, Joe" Nick said desperately as he emerged from the closet in tan pants and a button down shirt.

Joe put his hand on Nick's shoulder, "Listen bro, if you want to skip school tomorrow, I'll cover for you. But please wait until tomorrow at least."

Nick sighed and agreed, but he swore he was going to get to her somehow.

---

"Incredible" Miley said when he was finished and leaned up for another kiss.

"You're incredible," he said.

"No, you are" she argued smiling beautifully.

He smiled and looked up at the ceiling and the groaned.

"What?" she asked concerned.

"I love you so much…"

"And you're groaning about it?"

"I don't want to have to leave here ever," he admitted pulling her closer if that was even possible.

"Don't think about it" she insisted entwining their fingers

They laid there together in a comfortable silence just enjoying each others presence. Miley breathed in the scent of his cologne and he smelled her shampoo. They both couldn't imagine any place better than there at that moment with each other. Then Nick broke the silence.

"Do you want to like go somewhere and do something?" he asked.

"Mmm…No, I just want to stay here with you forever." She said with a kiss.

"Well, I for one, know that you didn't get to finish lunch and that you must be starving. Let me take you out for dinner before I have to leave"

"Don't leave," Miley said burying her face into his chest.

"I wish…"

"No, really. Stay the night. Please." Miley begged, lifting up her head and looking into his chocolate eyes pleadingly.

There was no way Nick could say no when she was begging him to stay like that. He knew it was wrong and that his parents would wonder where he was and that Joe would be annoyed he had to cover for him so long. He let out another groan.

"I can't do that, Miles" he said seriously trying to look away from her.

"Please" she begged again looking adorable and irresistible.

"Miley…" Nick began.

"Fine" she said letting go of his hand and moving over slightly. Nick sighed inwardly and prepared to give in.

"One condition"

Her eyes lit up. "Anything" she whispered.

"Let me take you out to dinner."


	10. Chapter 10

**SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY. okay, so i'm sorry, this kind of sucks, and its short but i knew i needed to get something up here soon. I hope you guys have checked out my new story Still In Love With You, if not you should : P. I've just been feeling more inspired by that one especially because of the great feedback. Okay so ENJOY REVIEW DON'T HATE ME XOXO SARAH.**

So about an hour later Miley and Nick found themselves sitting at a small out of the way diner. It was far enough from school that, hopefully, no one from school would be there. Miley didn't want to have to deal with every one's questions about her and Justin. She had turned off her phone too and she didn't want to ever come back into the real world.

she wanted to stay in the world where she and Nick could go out and sit in a booth together (on the same side of course) and hold hands and feed each other all the best finger foods and no one would bother them about it.

Miley looked at the feast in front of them and tried not to think of all the calories she was taking in. fries, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks. Things that were easy to eat so that they could spend time looking at each other and holding hands.

Despite the massive weight gain she was expecting she had never been this happy ever. She didn't even know it was possible to be this happy.

Nick felt similarly too miley except even happier if that was possible. Being with her now every single doubt he had had about her just completely disappeared.

Sitting there together they couldn't imagine ever being separated again and honestly they weren't even thinking about it. All that mattered was that they were together in that moment.

Later as they rode in a taxi back to Miley's dorm they didn't even need to say a thing to each other. Miley's head was resting on Nick's shoulder, not because she was tired, but because she wanted to be close to him and their hands were intertwined.

They snuck back though the window of Miley's room where Mandy had left a note.

Miley- Girl what happened? Where are you? If you get this and wanna come out we're hanging out at the usual spot. Call me and let me know you're okay please!

xoxo Mandy

Miley smiled at her roommates concern. She still didn't want to turn her phone on; she was sure just about everyone on campus not to mention Justin was calling her.

"Baby?" she said to Nick who was examining the pictures above Miley's desk, "Can I borrow your phone quickly?"

"Yeah" he said distractedly, tossing it to her without even looking up.

"Mandy it's miley. On NICK'S phone. =) I'm fine, I'll explain later. Please spend the night in ash's room if you can ;)"

She pressed send and looked up at the boy in front of her. He was so irresistible. His hair was a little disheveled and his brown curls looked like they were calling out to her fingers. His skin looked flawless from her. He looked clean and put together, but still boyishly messy. God how had she survived without him?

She walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They were roughly the same height so she rested her chin on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"Whatcha looking at?" she asked him.

His face was scrunched up but he smiled when he saw her.

"There's none of us."

"Huh?"

"No pictures," he clarified.

"He wouldn't let me take them" Miley said her eyes filling with tears again at the thought of her dad's angry punishment.

Nick instantly realized he had upset her and he turned around in her arms and wrapped his around her waist pulling her close to his chest.

"Shh c'mon Miley, it doesn't matter. I'm here now." he gently put his hand on the back of her head soothing her by patting her hair.

After a few moments she lifted her head up and squeezed him a little tighter.

"Sorry. That was silly" she said smiling. "I guess we'll just have to take some then!" she said giggling and grabbing her camera from the charger on her desk.

She sat on her bed and patted the space next to her. He sat down and put an arm around her shoulder. She held the camera at arm's length and snapped a picture.

Next picture Miley pursed her lips and Nick stuck out his tongue. During the next shot Nick turned his face and kissed her cheek at the last second. Miley turned the camera around to look at the picture.

"Aw this one's so cute!" she exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes. She was such a girl. Of course it was absolutely adorable to him and he loved it.

"My turn!" she said turning the camera back around and kissing him the cheek. After she had taken the picture, Nick turned his face to hers and pressed his lips against hers. The photo shoot was soon forgotten and had turned into a make out session.

As Nick and Miley lay in bed and kissed and eventually fell asleep together they couldn't help but think that everything was perfect again and forget that tomorrow would bring the hardest goodbye either of them had ever faced.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so first I would like to apologize for not updating this story in over a month. I'm sure you have all forgotten about it by now and are probably hitting the back button to figure out what happened before. Lately I just haven't been feeling inspired for this story. I have no idea where to go with it. Right now Still In Love With You is consuming my thoughts. I tried to make this chapter long, but there's no real action or drama in it and I apologize for that. **

**On that note, after this chapter I will be taking a official hiatus from this story. If you have any ideas on how to end/continue it please, please, please don't hesitate to let me know them. I will definitely credit you if I use your idea. **

**Anyway, here's the chapter. Personally I hate it, and I would completely understand if you didn't review it. :( **

Miley woke up in a sleepy haze. She felt exhausted but when she tried to turn over and go back to sleep she was stopped by something.

She smiled, realizing that last night had not in fact been a dream. Nick's arm was around her waist holding her in place and there was no place she would rather be.

She watched his face as he slept, his eye lids moving rapidly letting her know that he was dreaming.

When they fluttered open and she saw his warm brown eyes and her heart melted.

"What were you dreaming 'bout, baby?" she asked him softly.

"You" he answered looking into her blue eyes, "But then I woke up and you were there and it was much, much better than my dream" he said pulling her closer and pressing his face into her hair.

"I still can't believe you're really here" Miley whispered.

"Me neither."

Miley sat up in bed and Nick followed suit. Before going to sleep, Miley had changed into shorts and a t-shirt, but Nick had not changed at all. His dress shirt was wrinkly and so were his pants. His hair was messy, after all he had just slept on it. His lips were still red and swollen looking from all the kisses they had shared last night. He looked adorable.

"You look beautiful" he told her looking at her messy hair that was tumbling over her shoulders and her make-up free face.

She blushed, "No, I look horrible in the morning"

"Don't say that" he said before leaning in to kiss her.

Miley sighed, "I'm gonna miss not being able to do that every two seconds."

Nick nodded and picked up his phone. He had about five messages from Joe that all said the same thing, "when will you be home?" Miley had gotten up from the bed and was now sitting at her desk checking her email and stuff.

"Baby?" Nick asked.

"Mmmhmm?" she answered.

"I'm really, really sorry, but I have to go soon"

Miley just nodded and turned around in her chair to face him. She knew she had to be strong for Nick's sake. She knew he felt terrible about having to leave her and she hated seeing him so distraught.

It was almost ten in the morning on a Saturday by this time so Miley and Nick stuck out her open window again so no one would see them. Male over night visitors were definitely not allowed.

Miley went into the dinning hall and quickly came out with two muffins: One blueberry for Nick and one chocolate chip for herself.

She handed him one and he grabbed her free hand as they walked to his car. She nibbled on her muffin nervously. She wasn't really sure how she was going to be able to handle this goodbye.

Last time she had her anger at her dad to fixate on, not to mention getting situated at a new school. Now she worried that she would have nothing at all to distract her from missing Nick. She wasn't sure how she could possibly say goodbye to him.

Nick was feeling the exact same way. He didn't know how he was going to be able to get in that car, put it in to drive, and leave her standing there. He could tell that she was upset, how could she not be? He was slightly scared she might do something crazy in his absence. But he knew he had to get back home before anyone suspected anything.

When they got to his car, they both stood there, not really sure what to do next. Miley placed her muffin on the hood of his car and he did the same. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. She inhaled the scent of him, trying to keep it locked in her mind.

He put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer as he leaned his back against the car door. He buried his face in her hair and just concentrated on being with her right there in that moment.

They stood like that for a long time, just holding each other and not saying anything. Both of them were trying to savor this moment to keep it for bad days or when things got too hard.

Finally Nick brought his hand to Miley's chin and pulled her face up to meet his eyes. Hers were shining with tears and he was pretty sure his were too.

"Don't cry" he begged.

"I don't want to" she said, "But I can't help it. I don't know how I'm going to do this without you"

"It's gonna be okay," he told her, "You have my number, call or text me anytime. Besides you'll be home for Thanksgiving right? That's only a few weeks away."

Miley smiled at his attempt to be positive. She knew that he was right, but she still didn't want to have to say goodbye to him.

She brought her lips to his one last time and he opened her mouth with his tongue and she happily let him in. She grabbed the curls at the back of his neck and he pressed her body even closer to himself.

When they finally stopped kissing Nick rested his forehead on Miley's.

"I love you, okay?" he said quietly, "Don't ever forget that."

Miley nodded slowly. She didn't trust her voice to say anything except a quiet "love you too"

He got into his car and she stood on the curb as he pulled away. She followed the black car with her eyes until it made the turn. Only then did she let the tears flow down her face. As she walked back to her dorm she was sure everyone was watching her. She kept repeating his words in her head _it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay_…

**p.s. This is totally random, but did anyone else hear that rumor that Nick and Selena were spotted at a movie theater in Texas on a date? That seriously disturbed me. Worst of all, rumor has it they watched Bolt. That's not awkward... **


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright. So I'm really trying to hard to finish up this story. When I first started writing it, this isn't exactly what I wanted to happen, but I think it's just time to wrap it up. I hate leaving it like this, but honestly I'm kind of over it. If you haven't already, please check out my newer stories. Thank you for your continued support during all the time I didn't update. **

The weeks passed by slowly for Nick and Miley, but they were surprised to find their relationship thriving instead of falling apart during the time they spent apart. Maybe it was because both of them remembered how miserable it was to not even be in contact with the other person or maybe just because they loved each other, they were making the whole long distance thing work.

Emails, phone calls, webchats, they were pulling out all the stops to make it seem as if they were like a normal couple who spent time together. If anything they were only growing to appreciate each other and love each other even more every day. It was a truly beautiful thing to see two young teenagers working it out.

Finally though, it was almost Thanksgiving and Miley was all packed to go home for the weekend. The break started on Wednesday and she wasn't due back in school until Monday.

Somehow, she had convinced her father to let "Lilly" come pick her up. Of course, by Lilly, she meant Nick, who would later drop her off and Lilly's house just to make it believable, but her father didn't know that, right?

Miley waited nervously at the front gate of the school for Nick's car to pull up. She had a small suitcase with her and her giant Marc Jacobs purse. She had taken extra care to look nice that morning, although her outfit wasn't too over the top- just normal jeans and a nice-ish shirt. She tapped her fingers on the handle of her suitcase and bounced on her feet... what was taking him so long?

When the black car pulled up to the curb, everything seemed like it was working in slow motion. There was Nick's adorable curly head of hair getting out of the car and coming around to greet her. Somehow (although she couldn't remember moving from her spot on the sidewalk) she found herself launching herself into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist. He laughed his adorable laugh, the one that he reserved only for things regarding Miley and caught her, holding on tight.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," Miley repeated over and over while showering his face with kisses. Finally she got off of him as people were starting to stare at them and she didn't want to cause a scene. They took a moment to just look at each other. Of course they had seen each other through the internet, but there was only so much detail 1.3 megapixels can show you.

"You look good," he said with a smile as he drank in her beautiful figure, his hands on her waist.

"You too," she whispered before leaning up and placing a light peck on his lips.

"I don't see you in like a month and that's all I get?" Nick said pouting.

Miley laughed, "Maybe you'll get something later if you're good," she said teasingly. But Nick had other plans. He pulled her close by the waist and captured her lips in a more passionate kiss.

"I love you," he said when they were finished, "Ready to go home?"

Miley nodded and Nick opened the car door for her before putting her bags in the backseat and getting into the driver's side.

"So have you talked to your dad recently?" Nick asked his girlfriend. He felt bad that their relationship seemed to be strained because of him.

"Mm.. Not since I asked him if 'Lilly' could pick me up from school," she told him.

"You guys really should talk."

"Well, sorry, I don't want to talk to someone who judges me and assumes things when they don't know anything," Miley said defensively.

Nick dropped the subject. As was tradition, Nick's family would be joining Miley's for Thanksgiving. Her dad would take care of the turkey and stuffing and his mom would take care of the rest. Lilly's mom and Lilly would also be joining them because none of them wanted Lilly's mom in a kitchen. But it was always at the Stewart's house. Always. That's just how it was.

Nick didn't want things to be awkward with Miley's father and he didn't want Miley hiding them from him even though he knew that was what she wanted. That wasn't the way to start a great relationship. And Nick didn't want Billy Ray to hate him afterall.

They held hands the whole ride and talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Too soon, the ride was over and Nick was dropping Miley off at Lilly's house. The second they pulled up Lilly shot out of the house and was opening Miley's door.

"I think that's supposed to be my job," Nick said chuckling as he got out Miley's bags and watched the two best friends jump and squeal and hug each other. Once they were done their reunion, Miley turned to look towards Nick.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she said smiling at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I can't wait," he said with an irresistable grin and kissed her goodbye, "I love you."

"Love you too," Miley said as Nick got in his car. She stayed on the sidewalk watching him drive down the road to his own house.

"So... what are you wearing tomorrow?" Lilly asked once Nick was gone. Miley grinned at her friend.

"Mall?"

"Duh! Race you to the car," and the two best friends piled into the car before heading to the local mall

***

The next morning Miley came down in a short white dress and brown boots (think Before the Storm performance). Her dad looked at her suspiciously.

"What are you all dressed up for?" he asked her.

"Oh you know," Miley said with a huge smile on her face, "Just happy to be home!"

"This better not be about Nick," her dad warned, "Just because the Jonases are coming over like usual doesn't mean I approve of you two messing around."

"Nick?" Miley said with an air of indifference even though secretly she wanted to yell at her dad and explain to him how much she and Nick loved each other, "I haven't thought of him in ages."

Her dad bought her lie and told her to set the huge table in the dinning room which Miley did happily. She couldn't wait for everyone to get there. The doorbell rang and Miley ran to it. She openned it and her face fell slightly when she saw it was just Lilly.

"Well, is that anyway to greet your bestfriend?" Lilly said joking and Miley smiled and gave both Lilly and her mom a huge hug.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Truscott," Miley said politely.

"You too, sweetheart. Boarding school has obviously done wonders for you," she said looking at Miley, "You look great."

Miley smiled and thanked her, but she knew the real reason she was glowing was because she was in love. Shortly the doorbell rang again and Miley opened it excitedly.

Behind the door stood Mr. and Mrs. Jonas with Frankie, Nick's little brother.

"Hello, Miley," Mrs. Jonas said giving her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, "The boys are unloading stuff from the car, they'll be in in a minute."

She nodded at Mr. Jonas and Frankie who already had their hands full of covered dishes, "My dad's in the kitchen already, you can drop the food off there, I'll go help the boys..."

"Oh Miley, you don't have to-" Mrs. Jonas started, but Miley was already flying down the driveway to their car. She gave Kevin and Joe smiles as she passed them and put a finger to her lips. They nodded in understanding and nodded back at her.

Nick had the upper half of his body inside the trunk of the car, trying to reach the last few dishes. Miley smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He stiffened for a moment, before standing up and turning around to see Miley.

"Hey, beautiful," he said with a huge smile and pecked her on the lips. She smiled back and kissed him even harder. She squeezed him extra tight before letting go of him so that he could carry the food into the house. She grabbed something too, so she didn't look completely empty handed.

Once they got inside, they were careful to stay far away from each other and not look as if they were even friends. Once dinner started though and everyone took their usual places, Nick and Miley wound up next to each other, as usual. During Grace, Miley's hand felt like it was on fire where Nick was touching her and her heart burst at the extra little squeeze he gave her before letting go.

It was pure torture to have to sit next to him and not touch him or even talk to him besides friendly small talk. Miley thought she was going to explode. Finally dinner was over and the parents offered to do the dishes, which of course none of the kids objected to.

They all left the table quickly and went to hang out in Miley's room. It was huge and in addition to her bed she had a small couch and a few chairs set up. She also had a TV and the boys and Lilly quickly put on the football game. Miley rolled her eyes. Sports were so not her thing. She got up off the couch where she was sitting next to Nick and walked into her adjoining bathroom.

She looked at her face in the mirror and cleaned off some of her smudged make up that had collected under her eyes. She heard a soft knock on the door.

"One minute," she called.

"It's me," Nick's voice said quietly from the other side, "Are you okay in there?" Miley smiled and opened the door and pulled him into the bathroom. She quickly pulled him close and kissed him hard on the lips. Soon they were making out pressed up against the door. She pressed herself against him desperatly, trying somehow to show him how much she loved him and how much she missed him.

"Woah," he said pulling away slightly, but still holding onto her, "Not that I'm not happy, but what is this all about?"

"I love you," she said cutely, trying to avoid the subject.

"I love you, too," he said with a smile, "Now are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Miley groaned, "I just love you so much and I haven't been able to show it."

"Well, you're showing me now," he said with a smirk.

"Well, you know..." Miley said lowering her voice, "If you sneak into my room tonight I can show you just how much I love you," she ran a finger down his chest as she said those words to him.

He gulped. His girlfriend was so beautiful, it was going to be so hard to turn her down.

"Isn't that what got us into this situation to begin with?" Nick asked her. Her face hardened and she pushed him away from her and crossed her arms.

"Fine... if you don't want to..." she started.

"It's not that I don't want to," Nick protested, "Believe me," he said looking her up and down, "I _really, really_ want to. But I don't want to give your dad an excuse to hate me!"

She just continued to glare at him.

"Please don't be mad at me," he begged, grabbing her wrists and uncrossing her arms before wrapping his around her, "I just don't like this whole sneaking around thing."

Soon she melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him as well, "I don't either, but I don't know what else to do."

"Maybe we should tell your dad about us."


End file.
